‘We Have to Stand Together’: Australian Leaders Voice Support for Jewish Community

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a visit to the St Kilda Shule in Melbourne, Australia on Oct. 11, 2023. (AAP Image/James Ross)

Leaders from both sides of Australian politics have voiced their support for the Jewish community following the attacks by the terrorist group Hamas in Israel.

Speaking at a Melbourne synagogue on Oct. 11, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the terror attacks, saying that the targeting of civilians and the taking of hostages was “an affront to all Australians.”

“I know many of you are spending sleepless nights waiting desperately to hear from loved ones. Many of you have family and friends who are being called up to serve,” Mr. Albanese told the Jewish community in St. Kilda, Melbourne.

“The images we are seeing from Israel strike at every human heart but I know they fall heaviest on the Australian Jewish community.”

On Oct. 7, Hamas’s unprovoked and deadly offensive forced Israel into a “state of war” after Hamas terrorists launched a surprise cross-border attack on Israel from the air, land, and sea.

The unprecedented surprise assault saw Hamas terrorists infiltrating Israeli territory and firing thousands of rockets into Israel from Gaza.

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Rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists from Gaza City are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defence missile system in the early hours of Oct. 8, 2023. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)

Mr. Albanese said that over 1,000 people in Israel have been killed, while 150 people have been taken from Israel and held hostage in Gaza.

“This is the worst loss of life for Jewish people on a single day in history since the Holocaust,” he said.

The prime minister also assured the Jewish community that recent antisemitic events, particularly in Sydney, where pro-Palestine protestors chanted “Gas the Jews” and “[Expletive] the Jews” at the Opera House on Oct. 9, had “no place in Australia.”

“Our country is better than that—and our country is a better place because of you and your community, and my government is committed to keeping the community safe,” Mr. Albanese said.

Meanwhile, in Sydney, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also voiced his support for the Jewish community, saying that the terrorist acts the world has witnessed by Hamas in recent days “cannot be given moral equivalence with any other behaviour.”

“Hamas has a moral equivalence with ISIL—not with Israel, not with the Jews, and not with people of good faith,” Mr. Dutton said on Oct. 11.

Australian Opposition Leader Peter Dutton speaks during a vigil for Israeli victims of Hamas at Rodney Reserve in Sydney on Oct. 11, 2023. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)

“And we should always remind ourselves of that.”

Mr. Dutton re-affirmed Australia’s stance on Israel.

“We will always stand with the people of Israel: as a country, as a people,” he said.

“As a country, as a people, we cherish those of Jewish faith among us.”

The opposition leader also had this message to Hamas:

“We’re here as Australians tonight, to send a very clear message to those millions around the world that we join with them in staring down these acts of depravity.

“In making sure that over the coming days and weeks, there is no retreat. There is no room for movement.

“We need to make sure that Hamas hears a very clear message: That their acts of terrorism will never, ever be tolerated—and that we will never stand back from the responsibility that we have to stand together.”

Greens Voice Condemnation for Both Sides

Greens leader Adam Bandt has taken a different approach and condemned both sides of the conflict.

“This is a painful time for the Jewish and Palestinian communities in Australia, who must be able to grieve the loss of loved ones and publicly express solidarity for those trying to stay safe back home, and antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks on Australia’s Jewish and Palestinian communities must stop,” Mr Bandt said in a media statement.

“The premeditated targeting of civilians by Hamas is a war crime, as is the bombing of Palestinian civilians by the State of Israel.”

Mr. Bandt said he was concerned about an anti-semitic incident that occurred to a bystander in Melbourne on Oct. 10.

“This war has brought pain and grief to so many, and there is no place to worsen that through hateful and violent racism and bigotry, including antisemitism and Islamophobia,” Mr. Bandt added.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said security would be increased around key areas, such as synagogues and schools, after a request to do so.

“This is a very, very difficult time for the Jewish community,” she said.

“We do need to ensure we’re providing a safe and harmonious setting here in Victoria and that is the work that Victoria Police is focused on.”

On Oct. 11, a 23-year-old Sydney man was charged with intimidating with intent to cause fear of physical harm over an alleged anti-Semitic incident.

Emergency Repatriation Efforts Underway

Australians seeking to return home from Israel have been granted free-of-charge government-assisted departure flights starting on Oct. 13.

Two Qantas flights will begin evacuating Australians on Oct. 13, with a further flight offered next week.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she understands that many Australians are experiencing difficulties with delays and cancellations of flights departing Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.

“Our immediate priority is to ensure the Australians who want to leave Israel are able to do so—but we are working on options for Australians who need onward support from London,” Ms. Wong said.

The two planes scheduled for Oct. 13 depart Ben Gurion Airport for London.

There are approximately 10,000 Australian residents, and more tourists are stranded in Israel. Australian authorities are trying to ascertain their status and bring home those who want to leave.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said there would likely be a large demand for the flights.

“It’s possible there will be an initial rush of people out of Israel but then later others will want to leave,” she told the ABC on Oct. 12.

More than 1,000 Palestinians are believed to have died, and more than 5,000 were wounded in retaliatory air strikes on Gaza.

Among those killed by Hamas in Israel was Australian grandmother Galit Carbone, aged 66, about 5 kilometres from the Gaza Strip border.

Mimi Nguyen-Ly, Monica O’Shea, and AAP contributed to this report.